Tough enough?: Penn State disappointed in its physicality
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It didn't take long for Matt Campbell to trace the biggest reason for Penn State's 34-13 shellacking at the hands of Northwestern on Friday night.
"They played the game and the style of game that we would like to play," Campbell told reporters afterward at Ryan Field. "And they beat us. They controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
"The frustrating thing for me is the standard of what this (PSU) program plays with -- the attitude, the effort, the toughness -- and we lacked it in every way shape or form. And I put that on me."
Northwestern's 413 yards rushing were the fourth most by an opponent in Penn State history following Michigan State in 1997 (452), Notre Dame in 1989 (425) and Michigan in 2022 (418).
Some of the Nittany Lions said afterward that their practice routine was different last week and suggested it contributed to the loss.
Penn State was operating on a short week, having played (and lost to) Wisconsin on Saturday night. The Lions flew to Northwestern on Thursday.
The Wildcats (3-1) played at Indiana last Friday night so they had a one-day advantage.
"We just didn't practice physical enough and we're going to fix that as a group as players and as coaches," tight end Ben Brahmer said. "Everybody's taking their own accountability, and we're just going to stick together and change our mentality going through the week.
"You don't want to get guys injured in practice. The coaches are obviously leery about that, but sometimes when you get your backs pushed against the wall, you've just got to go at it. All I know to do is work, so I'm just going to come back and work and do my job and practice as physical as I can. That's all we need to do."
Players were disappointed in the Lions' lack of toughness.
"We got outphysicaled tonight, and that's not the standard of Penn State," receiver Chase Sowell, who led PSU with six catches and a touchdown, said.
Guard Cooper Cousins believes the Lions need a stronger conviction in the run game, which only managed 48 yards at NW.
"We need to come off the ball with a nasty intent," Cousins said. "I know that's the vision of what we have for ourselves. We need to come off the ball, and teams need to see us having that conviction."
Campbell said the lack of a run game, "made us a dropback passing team, and without a consistent running game, that's a hard way to live."
Defensively, the Lions missed too many tackles, which Campbell called "frustrating because we've tackled well in the first four games."
Bottom line, Campbell said: "I didn't get this football team physically prepared, and that showed up on the both sides especially on the line of scrimmage. We had a lot of opportunities to make tackles."
Whether it's personnel or scheme, Campbell knows the clock is ticking. After a 3-0 start, the Lions have lost two straight and play Southern Cal and Michigan next.
"We've got to find answers, and we've got to get it fixed fast," he said.
Campbell said he didn't consider inserting backup quarterback Alex Manske for starter Rocco Becht, who was intercepted twice and struggled to connect with open receivers.
"We have great belief in Rocco, our players and our coaches," Campbell said. "We have the right human beings in that locker room. The challenge will be getting ourselves aligned back to who we want to be, where we need to be and fundamentally the team we need to be to be able to win."
Becht completed 26 of 41 for 243 yards and a touchdown but never got the offense into a rhythm.
"We've got to be better," he said. "That's not Penn State football."
Becht's 10-yard scramble was the Lions' longest rush of the night.
"I need to use my legs and make the play last longer," he said.
Campbell maintained confidence in his QB, who was a three-year starter at Iowa State before following Campbell to PSU.
"He's worked through hard (times) before," Campbell said. "The fact of the matter is he's a winner, and he's worked through tough situations, and we're in one of those right now."